Welcome to Canada
by quirkynicknamehere
Summary: She confessed to Karma that she slept with Liam. She told Reagan the same thing. She told her mom about Reagan. Now, convinced everyone (along with the rest of the world) hates her, Amy Raudenfeld decides the best move is to leave Austin entirely. Her destination? Canada, where (she thinks) no one would think to look for her.
1. Chapter 1

**The story will be filled with Canadian stereotypes (within reason) and probable Karma and Liam hate. This is something I'm writing for my own sheer entertainment; if there are factual inaccuracies, please forgive them and move on, unless it's massive. Points of view will possibly change throughout. Thanks, and enjoy! I don't own anything.**

At first glance, a random stranger would think this to be a completely rash and unplanned move. More specifically, what sixteen year old girl with only a couple thousand dollars to her name would intentionally make her way to an entirely new country after "just" sleeping with her best friend's boyfriend in a drunken haze?

That would be Amy Raudenfeld, who actually thought the whole escapade through very thoroughly. Or, as thoroughly as any sixteen year old girl can. And, standing in the Customs line at the Calgary International Airport, she's very proud of herself for making it this far.

She chose Calgary for three main reasons:

It has one of the best job markets in the country, and while housing opportunities were slim, she felt she could make do. Plus it's a hell of a lot cheaper to live in than Toronto or Vancouver.

It's in the same time zone as Texas. Well, mostly. No jet lag there. It also has the same environment (a.k.a landlocked with a dry atmosphere).

It was supposedly the most Texas-like place in Canada. It does have the Calgary Stampede, after all.

Amy checked her watch; 10:42 pm. It was approximately 3 weeks, 3 days, 8 hours and 41 minutes since Amy had confessed to Karma that it was actually her who was Liam's latest conquest. 3 weeks, 3 days, 8 hours and 39 minutes since Karma had shouted bloody murder at her and declared Amy dead to her. Afterwards, she went to Reagan, because hey, fuck it. In for a penny, in for a pound.

Reagan told her to leave and didn't say anything else. She didn't respond to Amy's desperate calls and texts, and for the second time in the same year, Amy's heart was broken by a girl she loved. Her mother was still in a foul mood since Amy started dating another female – she clearly hadn't "grown out of this lesbian phase" – and wasn't much in the mood for talking. Adding in Lauren's bitchiness (she really thought they had been making progress; what the fuck did Theo do anyways?) and the fact that the entire school now hated her existence for supposedly destroying Karma, Amy had had enough.

So she did her research, and decided that she couldn't stay in the country; if they found her and dragged her back, that would be a Hell on earth like no other. She quietly withdrew all the savings from her bank account every few days. She prepared herself for the move, for a new identity: fake ID (Shane had actually come in handy for once); fake glasses; pieces of clothing her mother owned but she had never worn until now, plus a few favourites; her savings; a few mementos she had to bring with her, and her iPod and charger. She didn't have anything else. Amy had already gone to sketchy tech shop and declared that if they would wipe the hard drive on her laptop completely clean, with no trace whatsoever left on it, with the promise to never reveal she was here, they could keep the computer. Of course, the owner gladly agreed. She threw her phone into a pond at some golf course the night she left. The bloody thing never worked anyhow.

She had called her mom and told her to fuck off, that she was staying over at Reagan's for the night, since Farrah had never bothered to listen to Amy's tale of how she now had two ex-girlfriends. She was certain her mother wouldn't notice she was gone for a least a day; if Amy was being honest with herself, it would be at least two, and if she was lucky (or brutally unlucky, depending on the perspective), it could be closer to a week. No one would suspect a thing until she was long gone.

She hopped on a bus to San Antonio, then quietly made her way into a bathroom and dyed her hair a light brown with some cheap ass spray. It wasn't great, but it would last until she had a shower to completely dye it in. She threw on a beanie, her fake glasses and played on the heartstrings of a mother with two young children that her wallet had been stolen, and had no way of getting to the airport. Once there, she boarded a plane to Calgary (with a layover in Vancouver), with 286 other people, with a new name and new appearance.

Amy looked at her fake ID as she handed it to the official at the desk. Her new "official" name was Jessie Owens.

"Welcome to Canada, miss."The older man's voiced broke her out of her reverie as she received her identification back. Amy couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face as she stepped away from the Customs line. She was cleared. She was free. She was bloody fucking exhausted, but she was finally here. Amy Raudenfeld had vanished into thin air in Texas, just as a young woman named Jessie Owens arrived in Calgary.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, for my first fic, I did not expect that much of a reaction. Thanks, everyone. I feel like I should declare that I'm not a diehard Faking It fan. I don't know every detail like some of you do. Therefore, certain aspects – like the timeline – won't necessarily be in line with the show. But hey, Amy hasn't gotten on a bus yet in the show, so... I know things are moving along rather quickly in this chapter, but I want to set things in motion. There will also not be a set update schedule - I have no idea how long this could be or how it ends; making it up as I go, you know? This is also going to parody Calgary occasionally. For instance, the climate; yes, we do occasionally get snow in May. YES, it can actually be 10 degrees Celsius outside with a foot of snow on the ground. Seriously. From this point onward, if Amy is in the presence of others, she will be referred to as Jessie. Anyway, enjoy!**

Amy stood looking at herself in the mirror. God, she barely recognized herself; she might go so far as to say even Karma wouldn't despite being friends for ten years (ten years that she threw away in two minutes). As planned, she had dyed her hair a light but permanent brown. She'd have to redo it every couple of months, but with the hair, the glasses and a little makeup, you'd have to look long and hard at Amy to figure out who she really was. A far cheaper and less stressful alternative to being discovered, in her opinion.

The former Raudenfeld had found the cheapest hotel room in the airport and crashed there for the night, she was so tired. So far, her morning had been spent changing her look and trying to adjust to the basic Canadian differences in a matter of hours; she wanted to draw as little attention as possible. Amy's first thought was how easy Canadians have it with their currency; not only do they get one and two dollar coins (but seriously, who calls their money "loonies"? Really?), but it's colour coded with the numbers clearly printed. She patted herself on the back for exchanging most of her money before she left the states. However, she cursed several times when she discovered that – despite being halfway through fucking May – there was still a good foot of snow on the ground, AT LEAST. This was a problem for several reasons; one, she had no boots. Two, she only had the basic coat for fall weather in the event it got really cold. Snow in May was not something Amy was expecting. And yet the weather reports – ALL OF THEM – said that today was going to be nice and warm at 10 degrees (she had to remind herself that Canadians measure temperature in Celsius, not Fahrenheit). And it actually was. It was warm and there was a foot of snow on the ground. What the fuck was wrong with this place?

Amy decided her first order of business was to acquire at least some source of income, and then she would look for a permanent place to stay. So, after quickly doing some general research of the city, she made her to way to a cafe in an older neighbourhood.

As she was standing in front of Six Degrees, Amy took in her surroundings. These buildings were way smaller than the ones in Austin. Granted, the neighbourhood was decades old, but these houses were TINY in comparison. There were a few more small businesses down the block; a small convenience store, an antique joint, a moderately sized clothing establishment and a hair salon. The area itself was nice; despite looking like it belonged in a 70s movie, there were plenty of young families wandering about; Amy had passed by an elementary school on her way here, which in turn had dozens of kids on the playground, despite being covered in slush.

As she took a deep breath and said a silent prayer to a God her mother tried to get her to believe in, Amy –no, she was Jessie now – hoped that she would get the job. It didn't matter that it doesn't pay much; it establishes an income regardless.

The cafe was much warmer than she expected – literally. It was bloody fucking hot in here. Jessie assumed it had something to do with the name of the establishment. The place was wooden, with chalkboards detailing the menu items. Small tables littered with several different newspapers consumed the left area, with about half a dozen patrons seated. On the furthest wall away was the counter, surrounded by relatively large coffee machines operated by a middle-aged woman. Jessie approved of the Fleetwood Mac playing softly in the background.

"Hi there," the woman said. "What can I get for you?"

Jessie put on her friendliest smile and politely replied, "Actually, I'm here about your ad in the paper. I'd like to apply for a job here."

A large grin spread out on the older woman's face. "Oh, fanatsic! You're hired. You got any experience making coffee?"

The look on Jessie's face rivaled that of a deer in the headlights of an impending car. "I...no, but... wait, what?"

"Well, you want to work here, right? That ad's been out there for months and you're the first applicant. So, come on. I'll show you how everything works." The woman hollered that she'd be back in a few minutes, turned around and gestured for Jessie to follow. She did as directed, practically tripping her own feet as she did so.

"Look, ma'am, while I'm thrilled I got the job, you don't even know my name and you just hired me? Isn't that just a _little_ bit risky? I mean, I'm not complaining, just confused." The woman kept walking through a door, leading to a cluttered office area. She sat down behind a large desk and gestured for Jessie to do the same across from her.

"Sue."

"...what?"

"My name is Sue Fraser. And yours?"

Jessie straightened in her seat. "Jessie Owens, ma'am."

"You don't have to be so formal, Jessie. You can call me Sue. I might be your boss, but we're also coworkers. Where you from, kid?"

"Actually, I just moved here from the States yesterday. I wasn't getting anywhere in school and I don't have much family left, so I came here. A fresh start, you know?" At this, a small frown formed on Sue's face.

"Yesterday?" Jessie nodded. "And you've already gotten yourself a job. Wow. Well, looks like you're on the right track... So, where you staying, if you only got here yesterday?"

"Oh, just in a hotel. I figured it'd be better to get some income before I started looking for a place," Jessie nonchalantly replied. "That'll probably be how I spend my time off these next few days, actually."

Sue remained silent for a few seconds. "Look, Jessie, I don't mean to freak you out or scare you here, but as it turns out, my daughter's looking for a new roommate. Her previous one just left to move in with her boyfriend. You look to be about the same age – you're what, 21?" Jessie nodded. "I know it's sudden, and you have every right to say no – I won't punish you if you do – but I thought I'd extend the invitation."

Jessie couldn't stop the smile that spread on her face, but did manage to refrain from jumping up and hugging her new boss of approximately 3 minutes. She honestly could not believe her luck. "I'd love to, Sue. That would be so awesome, thanks! When could I meet her?"

Sue looked at the clock; 3:27 pm. "Well, she starts at 4:30. I'll let her know that I have a potential roommate for her in a new employee, and in the meantime, let's get you familiar with everything, shall we?" Jessie enthusiastically agreed.

For the next hour, Sue showed Jessie the ups and downs of the cafe; she learned how to brew all the drinks on the menu – granted, there were not many – and how to work the register and such. The new employee picked everything up quickly, much to her boss's pleasure. Jessie learned that Sue actually made and brought the baked goods from home, and that shipments of pre-contained drinks arrived weekly. She also interacted well with the customers – something that Sue repeatedly praised her for, and made Jessie blush. Throughout the span of the hour, Jessie repeatedly thanked her new boss for all the opportunities, and the good wage she was being paid.

Six Degree's newest employee was busy cleaning tables and didn't notice when the bell above the door rang, signalling someone's arrival. She also didn't notice her new boss point the stranger in her direction. She DID notice, however, when she felt something tap her shoulder.

And good fucking God, did she ever notice what was standing in front of her.

She had lightly curled dark brown hair and a pale complexion, with the figure of an athlete. She was also about two inches taller than Jessie, and noticeably well dressed in her skinny jeans, flats and a casual but chic jacket. She had a messenger bag over her shoulder, and the beanie on her head only completed her outfit. The stranger was also absolutely drop dead gorgeous, without wearing anything (noticeably, at least) more than mascara.

The beautiful woman standing in front of Jessie extended her hand.

"Hi, I'm Kate Fraser. I hear you're looking for a new roommate."


	3. Chapter 3

First off, I'd like to declare that I absolutely loathe Karma as a character, for numerous reasons. That being said, I will try to be as fair as possible and not overdo it. For those of you wondering, I envisioned someone looking fairly similar to a younger Colbie Smulders (I HAD to pick someone from Canada, I just had to) for Kate. This chapter won't include any aspects of Jessie's new life. In the meantime, I'm open to suggestions. I have a vague idea of where it will head, but ideas are always welcome. Thanks again for all the reviews, and enjoy!

"What the fuck do you mean she's GONE?"

Lauren couldn't believe this. She hadn't even gotten her left foot in the doorway before Farrah started bombarding her with questions about Amy – which, that in itself was alarming, since Farrah was NEVER home before six.

Had Lauren seen her at school today? Well, no.

Had she talked to her in the last couple days? Uh...

When was the last time she had seen her daughter? Come to think of it, not since Amy had picked a fight with Farrah and left to go stay at Reagan's.

Except she didn't. Reagan hadn't seen her for days, or so she told Farrah. Apparently, the girls had had an argument and Reagan hadn't seen Amy since. She even openly led the elder Raudenfeld (or Cooper, as she was now dubbed) throughout her apartment to actually prove that no, she wasn't there. Farrah might not have always agreed with her daughter's choices – both sexual and otherwise – but she did love Amy dearly. And now she was missing, with no indication as to where she had gone.

Amy, her sexually confused but goodhearted stepsister, had disappeared.

Farrah slumped onto the couch, head in her hands, when Lauren confirmed she too had not seen or heard from the young woman. As she began to cry, Farrah looked up with the most heartbroken eyes she had ever seen and Lauren felt her heart drop.

"Her bank account is empty. Her phone number isn't in service, her computer is missing, and no one's seen her for three days." Farrah began to sob harder. "My baby's been gone for THREE DAYS, Lauren! And I never noticed, the school never noticed, you and your father never did... I need her back, Lauren. I need to see Amy and know she's all right. Oh, God, it's all my fault. I should have noticed sooner. I should have realized that something was wrong when she yelled at me like that. What if she hates me, Lauren? What if she left because of me? What if she trusts the wrong person? What if she gets hurt? What if she's already -"

"Farrah, STOP!" Both women were shocked at the tone Lauren used, but she composed herself and pressed on anyway. "Amy is fine. At least, she was when she left. You said that her savings were gone, right?" Farrah nodded. "So we have to assume that she withdrew the money so we wouldn't be able to track where she was going through her bank account. We have to assume her plan was to move somewhere else, not to..." Lauren cleared her throat, and spoke more softly, "...die."

Silence enveloped the room as Farrah processed Lauren's words. Yes, what she said made sense, but why would Amy leave in the first place? Farrah certainly had no idea. Although, to be fair, she really couldn't think straight at the moment – she was consumed with worry, self-blame, despair, you name it. Putting it simply, Amy's mother was a complete train wreck.

But Lauren knew why. She knew why Amy had been acting strangely the past couple weeks. She knew why Amy hadn't been paying attention in class, why she had all but ignored Shane, why Reagan had stopped showing up at the Cooper residence unannounced, and why Karma and Liam seemed to be openly flaunting their newfound relationship.

Because as always, Amy had tried to do the right thing. She wasn't about to let the entire school eat Liam alive with the revelation that he had slept with someone else straight after breaking up with Karma. Amy had confessed to Karma, and begged her forgiveness. She begged Karma to not give up on ten years of friendship and Amy declared that she wasn't about to give up on Karma, despite all the utter SHIT they had been through in recent months.

And Karma had slapped her in the face. Literally and figuratively. She called her a variety of colourful names and chose Liam over Amy. The whole school knew about it – even Lauren, who had been obsessing over why that fucktard Theo had stood her up. But, much to Lauren's delight, the school had now turned against Liam AND Karma. And Lauren knew that the shit had yet to hit the fan; once everyone found out that Amy had disappeared, the show would begin. These might be immature idiots, but at least one person would be able to piece together why Amy left (and Lauren would bet anything Shane would be that one person).

Now, Lauren wasn't the nicest young lady, but she had really started to care for Amy. Lauren wanted to find her as much as Farrah did. But they had no starting point, nowhere to even begin looking. So as Farrah called the police to report a missing minor, Lauren declared that she was going out to "clear her head".

She drove straight to Reagan's and relentlessly pounded on the door until Amy's (ex?) girlfriend answered. Lauren had to bite back a gasp at the older girl's appearance; she wore no makeup, her hair pinned up on her hair messily, and her eyes red and puffy from crying. She was wearing some sloppy, oversized clothes and Lauren assumed she hadn't moved from her crying position since Farrah had left hours before. Reagan didn't even bother to hide the hope that lit up her eyes once she saw Lauren.

"Where is she? Have you found her?"

Lauren shook her head. "No. We haven't. We've called the police, but so far, nothing." Reagan's face feel and she retreated into her apartment to sit down in the kitchen. Lauren shut the door and followed. She sat down opposite the DJ, and chose her next words carefully. "Reagan, I need to know what happened between the two of you. Amy loved you. You know she did. She never would have left you willingly, unless she thought that you wanted her to."

At this, Reagan began crying again. She took a few minutes to compose herself before she began to speak. "I know. I know she loves – loved – whatever, me." She coughed and Lauren waited for her to continue. "She came over right after she told Karma about the wedding night. Amy said she wanted to be honest with me, she said that she wanted me to hear from her, as it actually happened. I want you to know that I didn't yell or scream or anything at her, Lauren. You need to believe me. But I was so overwhelmed that I needed space, and I told her to leave. I told her to leave and I didn't say anything else, even when she begged me to say something. I practically threw her out. I turned off my phone so I wouldn't have to deal with the reality that she slept with a guy." Reagan took another deep breath. " I needed time. I needed to figure out if I was okay with that, even though we weren't actually together when it happened. I wasn't ready to talk to her about it. I didn't even know she was gone until her mother came barging in this morning. She never told me anything."

At this, Reagan began crying again and (against her normal behaviour) Lauren pulled her into a hug, as the DJ cried on her shoulder.

Ten minutes later, the girls had broken apart and Reagan had calmed down again. Amy's sister knew that it was time to go, so she left with the promise to call Reagan with any developments and the invitation for her to come over whenever she pleased.

As she was halfway around the door, Lauren turned around.

"This isn't your fault". And with that, she left without another word. She already knew her next destination. And as she approached the Ashcroft household, Lauren knew exactly what was about to go down.

Lauren rang the doorbell, and when Karma's mother answered the door, she smiled the fakest smile she could muster. "Hi, Mrs. Ashcroft. Is Karma home, by any chance? I need to talk to her about Amy. She's missed the last few days of school, and Karma would know what homework she has in Chemistry."

Karma's mother smiled and called for her daughter upstairs. Lauren could feel herself twitching with anger as she saw Amy's former best friend descend the stairs, confusion forming on her face when she saw who was standing at her door.

"Lauren? Is everything –"

Karma wasn't even halfway through her sentence when Lauren hit her as hard as she possibly could. Satisfied, Amy's stepsister turned around and began to walk to her car, ignoring Karma's cries of anguish. There were more important things to focus on. Like finding Amy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, I know I move back and forth between Amy and Jessie in this chapter, so a little clarification; Amy is how she refers to herself. If she is referred to as Jessie, someone else is talking to or about her. I hope that makes sense. This is a bit of a filler chapter to get all the details and emotions set, so if you're disappointed, you have my sincerest apologies. If you're still happy, then... yay! There's going to be a time jump somewhere along the line, but I'm quite sure where or when yet. Suggestions, as always, are welcome. Enjoy!**

Amy wasn't sure if she should be alarmed at the lack of homesickness. Sure, while she missed everyone back home, she sure as hell wasn't about to go back. She'd been reported missing a couple days ago, and, by the looks of the articles she'd read, the police had no leads. Perfect. Amy honestly didn't have any reason to go back; besides the fact that the news had reported her disappearance, there wasn't anything else.

No desperate pleas for her to return on Facebook. No crying friends and family giving interviews on television, begging her to come home. No emails, no messages, nothing. Absolutely. Fucking. Nothing.

In all honesty, her "new family" had treated her better this past week than she had in a long time. Besides the obvious of getting a job and finding a place to live in the span of 24 hours (though she didn't actually move in until the day following), Kate and her mom were pretty cool. Since having moved in a few days ago, the two young women had become rather close – or, as close as Amy was about to get without divulging anything that might give her away. Amy (as Jessie) told the well-constructed story of how while her parents, while never abusive, weren't around much and weren't really into showing affection. She knew that they cared for her, but as she grew older, it became more apparent that their opinions were too different. The former American wasn't very good at school, and didn't end up graduating at all. But since not receiving her high school diploma was something that significantly bothered Amy, she told Kate of how she was thinking of taking online classes when she had saved enough. Since she didn't have too many friends worth staying for (true story), Jessie packed it up and moved to Canada, her reasoning being "The States are too fucked up now anyways".

Kate, on the other hand, was quite the academic. She had always done well in school without really trying, and was going into her final year of engineering, with a focus in the oil fields. She grew up playing volleyball and hockey ("Yeah, it's stereotypical, but it's a really fun game!"), and, like Jessie, only has a handful of good friends. Her dad hadn't been in the picture for years, but Kate said her relationship with her mother is exceptionally good and she doesn't think about her father often (anymore).

Amy elected not to bring up the whole "Hey, I'm into girls" thing until they became more familiar with each other.

Overall, the apartment was nice. It's only about a 15 minute walk from the cafe, and Kate could easily bus to the university when the school year was in. It was fairly roomy, and was part of a relatively small apartment building; only about four floors, plus the roof. Luckily for Amy, the tenants had access to the roof and she often went there nightly to reflect on her choices, which was where she was sitting now, looking over the city lights in the cool summer air.

(Despite the snow. She still couldn't get over that.)

So far, she had no regrets. Well, except for the fact that her sexual encounter with Liam had led to the entire disaster, but as least Amy wasn't alone in that.

Liam.

How could Karma choose him over her? How could the redhead decide to throw away over ten years of friendship for a BOY? A boy who hadn't even known she existed up until they were ½ fake lesbians! The thought of them together made Amy want to shoot someone; probably Liam or herself, depending on the day. Although, it didn't hurt as much as it used to, to tell the truth.

The fact that her former best friend was with a boy, that is.

The fact that her former best friend chose that boy over her still hurt like bloody fucking hell.

Which reminded Amy of the fact that her own mother practically chose her new family over her – that stung. Not that this new family is a bad one, per se, but Farrah seemed to enjoy spending more time with Lauren – which, isn't unexpected, since the two are fairly similar in a lot of aspects. It's the fact that she doesn't also make time for her own biological child, who's been there the entire time.

And Lauren was cool, but she was quite different from her stepsister. To the point that she tried to kill anything in her way after the whole Theo incident. So much for progress.

Amy didn't even want to think about Reagan. She was still mad, to be honest. She'd moved from sheer sadness to full-blown anger. Okay, so Amy fucked up, but they weren't even TOGETHER at the time. Amy had gone straight to Reagan to tell her a completely unbiased story and didn't shield herself in the process. And yet she had still been asked to leave the DJ's abode.

Yet Amy couldn't decide if the anger was because she's still in love or not.

But hey, now she's in an entirely different country with a new name and face and she's beginning to make new friends. Kate had invited her out to meet some of hers the next evening, and Amy was thrilled. She was – is – so grateful to these people for making the transition easier than she ever could have dreamed.

Apparently, Shane's fake ID was so convincing that Amy was able to open a bank account and get a credit card in her new name without any trouble at all. Things were really going well for the runaway.

But Amy knew somewhere in her heart that eventually, it would stop. She knew that someday, the jig would be up, be it because she got careless or her identification proved to be false, or (God forbid) she ran into someone she actually knew. And holy fucking mother of Jesus, THAT would be the worst thing ever. And that is not an exaggeration. But, with any (more) luck, that won't be for a long, long time.

Satisfied with the concept that she was quite content with her new life, Amy set off to return to her apartment.

She was going clubbing tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm just going to lay it out right here: it's highly, HIGHLY unlikely that Karmy is endgame. I hate Karma as a character for so many reasons, and so there will be some bashing here and there. If you're reading this story in hopes of Karmy, I regret to inform you that it ain't happening. I haven't decided on the endgames for the remaining characters. We'll see how it all plays out, deal?**

Karma Ashcroft's life fucking sucked. Seriously.

First, her best friend FUCKED her boyfriend! Well, okay, they weren't together at the time. But she admitted to doing it only to hurt Karma! They both did! Who the fuck DOES that to someone they supposedly care so much about?

Second, her former best friend's stepsister just showed up on her doorstep out of the blue and nailed her right between the eyes! Luckily, her nose wasn't broken, but she was having a bitch of a time trying to cover up her two-semi blackened eyes. She didn't even get her first sentence (full of CONCERN, she might add) before Lauren clocked her. Without a word. And then she just LEFT. She didn't even tell Karma WHY she felt the need to knock the cobwebs out of her head. Karma thought that if she was going to get punched, she ought to at least know why.

Third, her former best friend had disappeared. Amy had just completely vanished and not a soul had any inkling of where she had gone. Hell, the only reason Karma found out was when two police officers showed up at her door while she was nursing her (almost) broken face. At first, she thought it was yet another one of Shane's gloriously illustrated dramatic pranks, but once it became clear it wasn't, Karma started freaking the fuck out. Sure, she hated the blonde, but that didn't mean she wanted her gone!

Well, that's a lie. She had actually literally told Amy to get out of her life forever. And she DID mean it – at the time. But her and Amy had been inseparable for ten years, through Amy losing her father, Karma feeling inferior to Zen, the endless attempts to gain popularity... and now that was just... gone. She had spent so much time being furious at Amy's actions and flaunting her relationship with Liam to piss her off that Karma had failed to notice just how distant Amy had become to everyone else.

But maybe it was good that she was gone. The police said it looked like she was planning to leave; so Amy must be okay, she must know what she's doing. Hell, it was probably another thing she did just to hurt Karma. The thought never would have crossed her mind a year ago, but after fucking Liam, Karma would believe that Amy would do just about anything to hurt her.

Now Karma wouldn't have to worry about seeing her former best friend in the hallways, about how the blonde would look at her with those puppy eyes that burned a fire in her stomach. She wouldn't have to keep explaining to Amy that she was straight. And now she could be with Liam openly and freely.

This could work.

The ENTIRE school seemed to be against her now. And not even her and Liam – just KARMA. Walking through the halls holding Liam's hand seemed to be sacrilegious to the rest of the student body and the constant glares she received were starting to get fucking annoying.

Annoying, that is, until she came face to face with Shane Harvey. Lord, have mercy on her.

Shane smiled at Liam and said hello. The taller of the two returned the greeting. Then he turned to Karma, and smiled widely.

"Hey, She-Devil-who-drove-her-best-friend-out-of-town!"

Karma rolled her eyes. "Knock it off, Shane. You and I both know I didn't have anything to do with Amy leaving. She didn't tell anyone, remember." She made to step around the scrawny teenager, but he stopped her. This time, he had murder in his eyes.

"Fucking EXCUSE ME?" Now people had started to turn and listen in on their conversation. Karma didn't like where this was headed. At. All. "Amy, a very dear friend of mine, up and left Austin because SOMEONE broke her fucking heart. SOMEONE chose a guy she's only known a couple months – no offense buddy," Liam smiled and nodded, "over YEARS of friendship. SOMEONE forced her to pretend to be a lesbian and abandon her quiet, happy existence so SOMEONE could be popular. And if that SOMEONE isn't you, please update me on this information!"

Oh, he did not. This. Means. War.

"Fuck you, Shane. She fucked Liam. She did it to hurt me. She could have said no any time and she didn't." Karma stepped up and got right in Shane's face. Neither of them were about to back down now. "And, in case you don't remember, YOU were the one that outed us at your party, even when we tried to tell you we weren't."

"Bitch, please. Amy could have said no? Like she would have. I have seen enough over these past few months to realize that she cares about you SO MUCH that she'd do damn near anything for you. Including repress years' worth of feelings for you while still having to publicly express them."

Karma began to doubt her position, but she wasn't about to show it to Shane.

"I think you'll also remember it takes two to do the do. And the reason he," Shane pointed at Liam, "and Amy slept together was because you had managed to hurt them both in the worst way. And yet, they still came back for you. Because they love you too much. You built most of your relationships this past year with nothing but lies and yet they're still there for you."

Shane turned around and yelled loudly enough for the entirely hallway to hear.

"And NOW, Amy's gone. And really, you don't care. Don't even bother trying to deny it – if you did, you wouldn't be here. You would either find it impossible to leave your room out of the guilt, or you'd be out there looking everywhere for her. You'd constantly be calling her, texting her, begging her to come back. Haven't you noticed the lack of Ice Queen presence? Lauren supposedly hates Amy, and yet she hasn't been to school since Amy was reported missing. She's been out there day and night tracking down clues, trying to find out where her stepsister is, and you're HERE. Amy's former best friend can't find it in her to even ask if she's okay."

Shane walked back toward her now, but he was still yelling. His eyes were wild with rage, and... watery?

"She's gone because of YOU, Karma Ashcroft. I know it, you know it, the entire school knows it. She left her family, her friends, everything she's ever known because of you. So congratulations! You're so special to her that she couldn't bear to stay for everyone else." He was almost full on crying now. "Amy's gone and no one even knows if she's okay or not. Like you said, she didn't tell anyone. So thank you, Karma, for ripping her out of my life, too. I hope you're proud." Shane gave Karma one last glare, then turned and started shoving people out of the way to get away from her. Out of the corner of her eye, Karma noticed Principal Penelope standing outside the door of her office, looking the same as everyone else: hatred and anger in their eyes. Karma looked up at Liam.

He wasn't there. He was nowhere to be seen.

And as the crowds began to clear as the bell rang, Karma couldn't even bring herself to cry. She felt like she had been punched in the stomach and hit by a train at the same time. She could hardly breathe.

She never thought of the effect Amy's departure would have on everyone else.

Because Shane was right; Amy left because of her.

And she felt horrible, because she knew that somewhere, deep in the pit of her stomach, Karma was glad she was gone. In that moment, she knew she was completely and entirely alone and had no one but herself to blame.

Yeah. Her life fucking sucks.


	6. Chapter 6

**You all have my sincerest apologies for taking so long; finals plus a months-long bout of Writer's Block left me with no inspiration for this story whatsoever. I'm still not happy with the chapter, but it's the best I can do at the moment. If you're still with me, you're the real MVP. I still have absolutely no idea where I'm going with this story... oh well. You guys get to come along for the ride with me! Suggestions always welcome. Anyways, I'm glad that you actually liked Shane ripping Karma; it was really fun to write. As always, I don't own a damn thing, which is great; I evidently don't have the creative capacity to keep writing on a set schedule.**

When she decided to come to Calgary, Amy hadn't considered the fact that these people would milk their "Western culture" to the fullest extent possible. And as Kate gave her a tour of the city before they went out on the town later, Amy made a mental checklist:

Their city slogan is "Heart of the New West".

Their city flag has a cowboy hat on it.

Their most popular clubs – incidentally, where the girls and some of Kate's friends were headed later – were called Cowboys and Ranchman's (But according to Kate, the only people that actually dress anything like Western are stupid douchebag guys and barely legal white girls).

Their major arena is called the Saddledome.

The Saddledome is in the middle of Stampede Park, which comes complete with the Corral and everything.

And apparently the Stampede brings in millions in tourism revenue every single summer from people who love the idea of the "New West". Seriously.

These Calgarians know what's up.

Kate had insisted that they ride the C-Train through downtown and, in her words, "Go walkabout". Who the hell even says that? But Jessie agreed, and found herself enjoying walking through the city in the mid-May weather. Unlike Austin, it was quite nice and warm, without being outrageously hot. The two girls walked slowly, exploring what the core of Calgary had to offer. Jessie openly declared that she loved the artwork throughout downtown Calgary, and Kate enthusiastically explained the reasoning behind it all.

The older brunette was halfway through explaining the significance of the Famous Five statue went she went silent and started dragging Jessie to another apparently really popular coffee shop.

And that was how Jessie Owens, formerly Amy Raudenfeld, spawned an addiction to the Canadian national staple; Tim Horton's doughnuts. (Dough-nuts. Why the fuck do they spell everything so weird and with an extra "u"?) Kate was ecstatic that Jessie was enjoying "Timmie's", as she called it, and kept pestering her about how the Americans really needed it down there.

Jessie happily agreed.

The girls continued their sauntering, up until Kate suddenly stopped in the midst of what seemed to be the busiest downtown street.

"Take a look around. You see all these tall buildings?" She spun around to prove her point.

"...uh, yeah? We ARE in downtown, Kate..." The university student smirked.

"Yeah, but this single block of buildings makes up a HUGE chunk of our economy. See that one?" She pointed to a building that looked the exact same as all the others. "That's the ConocoPhillips building. They're one of the biggest energy producers throughout the continent." Kate turned back to Jessie with a big grin. "They've offered me a job once I graduate. That building will be my life for the next 30 years."

Jessie immediately enveloped her new roommate in a crushing hug. "I'm so proud of you! And you still have another year to go, right?" Kate nodded. "That's amazing, Kate. Way to go."

As the girls continued to walk on and discuss Kate's ever-so-bright (and rich) future, Jessie thought of how she had just thrown herself at her roommate without a care; that's something Amy never would have done back in Texas, except for Karma. Amy was never one for physical affection – perhaps Jessie was different. In a good way.

She didn't miss Texas at all. Not a bit. She didn't miss all the drama with her family, her relationships, her friends... she didn't miss any of it.

She didn't miss Karma. And for that, Jessie was thrilled.

Upon first meeting Kate's group of friends, Jessie decided that any restraints she might have had back in Texas went out the window. There was no way that she was going to let her fear of judgement from others (namely a certain red-haired individual from the States) hold her back.

Not that she needed to worry.

Kate hadn't given an exact number of other humans that she would have to learn to functionally interact with, but after arriving late (traffic in this city is absolute shit – who THE FUCK drives at playground speed with a mattress on their roof ON THE FUCKING HIGHWAY?) Jessie immediately determined she'd have no trouble at all with this group.

Considering one of them introduced themselves as "the drunken loser table", Jessie felt they could at least bond over their mutual love of drunken shamelessness – except she wouldn't sleep with any of them this time. That's a no-no.

Ranchman's was overall a nice club. Although Jessie hadn't realized before now that country music could be grinded to. Then again, most of the women in the club were wearing tight shirts and shorts without looking overly slutty (political correctness was also not a major issue in Calgary, apparently)and hot damn, cowboy hats never looked so good!

There were two guys and a girl sitting at a booth against the wall in Ranchman's, and they were caught up in some animated conversation as the two roommates approached. It actually looked like the woman was about to hit one of the guys over his head when she noticed Kate and Jessie approaching.

"Kate! Could you please explain to this uncultured swine WHY Freddie Mercury was arguably the best singer and performer of all time?"

Kate smirked and immediately prepared for her tangent. "Well, he was an adopted Indian bisexual – don't roll your eyes at me, Dave, we both know he was into girls, too – who was an excellent piano and guitar player, though he was unhappy with his string abilities. He wrote over 90% of Queen's songs, most of them by himself, and he had a four-octave vocal range, and..."

The guy sitting across from the smug woman (who was also really hot – seriously, is there something in the water in Canada?) buried his face in his hands and muttered something about surrender while Kate high-fived the other girl. As they all levelled their eyes to get a good look at her, Jessie knew what was coming:

The introductions. Lord have mercy on us all.

Kate introduced her friends as Michelle –she who had excellent taste in music, Jessie decided -, Nick (who, for the most part, just sat there watching the show) and Dave, henceforth dubbed the "uncultured swine". Dave was the first one to extend his hand and introduce them as "the drunken loser table". She happily shook it and introduced herself as the new roommate from the States. Although by the way he looked the runaway up and down, Jessie knew at some point she'd have to let him down gently.

Turns out she didn't have to. Michelle did.

Okay, maybe not gently.

"Dave, lay off. Can't you tell she's riding the rainbow?"

WAIT, WHAT?


End file.
